Compact With Texans

Agency:

Services Offered:

Educational and educational support services to students at developmental, lower-division, upper-division, master’s and doctoral levels.

Customer Service Principles and Goals:

As a public comprehensive university, Angelo State University is committed to the creation, advancement, dissemination and preservation of knowledge in an environment that supports and encourages the needs and aspirations of both students and, in a larger sense, citizens of Texas and the nation. Angelo State University delivers undergraduate and graduate programs in the liberal arts, sciences and professional disciplines. In a learning-centered environment distinguished by its integration of teaching, research, creative endeavor, service, and co-curricular experiences, ASU prepares students to be responsible citizens and to have productive careers. In line with the mission of all institutions belonging to the Texas Tech University System, Angelo State University is dedicated to teaching, research and service both in responding to its multiple public constituencies and in addressing societal challenges through innovation of thought, dedication to purpose and implementation of solutions.

Customer Service Standards

internet site:

Angelo State University posts required documents on its website, which can be searched via the Quick Search window. Tabs at the top direct viewers to various university services and information, tabs at the left function based on the viewer’s self-selected group, and tabs on the right provide access to current news items. At the bottom of the site are categories with specialized information accessible with a mouse click.

Timely Service:

Educational services are delivered during scheduled class times, scheduled office hours, and scheduled student advisement hours; there are no wait times for these services. Educational support services are delivered on demand or by appointment as appropriate from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. weekdays. Some heavily used services such as Counseling occasionally have wait times of a day or so for non-emergency appointments, but emergencies are always handled immediately. Services such as Registrar and Financial Aid have wait times of an hour or so during peak registration times. Online services have been implemented and continually updated to respond to high demand during peak times.

Complaint Handling:

It is the policy of Angelo State University to receive, process, and resolve student grievances, including allegations of discrimination, and grade grievances, in a fair and prompt manner. A five-step grievance procedure, outlined in the Student Handbook, mandates a maximum of sixty-one days for the most extensive grievance, with appropriate safeguards for the student filing the grievance. Simple grievances can be settled within eight days. The full grievance procedure takes a maximum of sixty-one days.
Future students receive information by return mail or email after any inquiry. General financial aid inquiries are answered immediately; targeted inquiries may take up to a week. The process for filing complaints is detailed in Student Handbook in Appendix I.

Staff:

Staff is available during University business hours and at special University functions. Office directories are listed on the ASU website including the department officer’s name, phone number, and email address. At least every three years students are invited to participate in a University-wide survey of student satisfaction with various services via the Student Opinion Survey. Several offices administer annual or biennial surveys of student satisfaction of their staff.

Printed Information:

A full statement of students’ rights and responsibilities appears in the Student Handbook, which is revised yearly and distributed to every student.

Communications:

Every faculty member and administrative department is available by telephone and by email. Faculty members keep posted office hours when telephone conferences can be arranged. Each student is issued an email address after admission. Registration is available in person or on the web.

Explanation of Customer Service Quality Elements:

Since 1986, Angelo State University has used the Student Opinion Survey (SOS) by the American College Testing Service. This practice has provided the university with a very rich source of data about the whole range of services provided by a university. The instrument does not specifically address wait times, complaints, internet service, or communications, though it does ask about the kinds of services and policies, such as residence halls and student government powers, that are a common source of students’ complaints. A number of individual departments also conduct their own customer-service surveys, which address areas not included in the SOS. The university uses the surveys to improve services in areas that need attention.